Mold design is an important link in the development process of large-scale products. Because product and mold design are interdependent, understanding the role of the plastic part development process, the mold design process, and the mold manufacturing process is very useful for product design engineers and mold design engineers.
The different stages of a typical product development process include: product definition, product design, experience and product development, ramp-up, and launch.
Despite the complex product development process, most have the following key attributes:
Establish a systematic development plan to ensure design and manufacturing integrity.
Establish gate processes to mitigate risk by allocating budgets through effective assessments at key points in the project.
The product development process is divided into stages through approval fee gates. The next stage evaluates the previous stage.
1. Definition of product
The product development process begins with an analysis of the market, an understanding of competitor product standards, the definition of product specifications, and an assessment of potential profitability. If management agrees to develop a new product, a suitable team will be formed for early concept design and business development. In the first stage, the approximate dimensions, properties, and cost of the product need to be estimated. At the same time, concept sketches, physical prototypes and prototypes may be discussed and evaluated for feasibility.
In terms of profitability, market research will try to predict potential sales at various price points in the early stages of product launch. At the same time, a budget will be established for the labor and project costs required to develop the product and bring it to market.
Obtain management's evaluation of conceptual design, anchor sales expectations and budget by continuously evaluating the likelihood of commercial success of product development. Proposed product development projects may be rejected, put on hold or modified accordingly.
2. Product design
If the project is approved and a budget allocated, the product development process will continue at this point, usually with additional funding followed by further analysis and design. In the second stage, each component in the product gets a detailed design.
The design of plastic parts includes considerations of aesthetics, structure, heat, and manufacturing. The design of the manufacturing method will be used to confirm the issue of the efficient manufacture of the part. Assembly methods are designed to reduce parts, define tolerances on critical dimensions, and ensure assembly economics for the finished product.
The design result of the initial product design phase (through a second management recommendation) is a detailed and validated product design.
"Detailed design" means that each part is assigned material, geometry, surface finish, tolerances, suppliers and cost. If custom plastic parts are required, a quotation for these parts is required at this stage. For approval, the manufacturing cost and the detailed design are submitted to management.
If the product design and cost are acceptable, the required budget is allocated and product development is focused on manufacturing.
3. Development of business and production
Although mold design and mold making are the focus of the plastics industry, they are all covered by the activity "Mold Making". At the same time, important business development and production plans will be established.
Specifically, business development entails fully defining the supply chain and establishing initial orders to support the launch of the product. In order to lay out the assembly line, determine the human resource requirements, and establish the manufacturing technology facility plan, these all require the establishment of the production plan.
When the mold is complete, "alpha" (initial) product production, testing and assembly will take place. After that, the initial product goes through a series of tests to verify its performance level, performance standards and user satisfaction. If the initial product is not satisfactory, the manufacturing process, associated tooling and detailed component design should be adjusted appropriately. At the same time, the operator will plan in detail for quality control and personnel training.
4. Scale up and put into production
High use of management review methods to verify the clarity of the design and production plan of the developed product. If so, a mid-weight product can be manufactured during sample production according to standard manufacturing requirements.
The "beta" product produced is provided to the marketing department, sales force and key customers to determine product acceptability. As before, products designed and manufactured may be modified to address important issues.
When all the stakeholders (marketing, sales, manufacturing, key suppliers, important customers) are ready, the product is produced based on the sample production process and the initial inventory of the product is established, after which the product is put on the market.
5. The role of
mold design
Mould quotation, mould design and mould making underpin the vast product development process. When a quote for tooling and/or parts costs is required, it usually means the start of the conceptual design phase or the start of the detailed design phase.
At this time, if the mold engineer or mold maker gives a sufficiently detailed design, it is somewhat unreasonable. The reasons are:
A lot of work in the early mold design is carried out at the same time as the imperfect product design;
Due to manufacturing process or product performance considerations, the mold design may require major modifications.
The mold development process, which often begins with an initial design that lacks detail, can lead to an unsatisfactory product if used directly. Key pieces of design information needed to begin mold design include part size, wall thickness, and expected throughput.
From this information, mold designers can develop initial mold layouts, give cost estimates, and suggest product design improvements. To expedite the product development process, mold design can be performed concurrently with the procurement and customization of mold parts.
When the product development phase comes to an end, the mold making and commissioning phase begins. For this reason, moldmakers and suppliers are under a lot of pressure to deliver high-quality molds as quickly as possible. This task is very challenging because of potential errors in the design process of the product.
Therefore, mold designers may be required to redesign and modify parts of the mold and work with mold manufacturers to determine whether the mold meets production requirements.
